During the night of 12-13
October it had rained throughout, soaking the ground and the pilgrims
who make their way to Fátima from all directions by the thousands. By
foot, by cart and even by car they came, entering the bowl of the Cova
from the Fátima-Leiria road, which today still passes in front of the
large square of the Basilica. From there they made their way down the
gently slope to the place where a trestle had been erected over the
little holm oak of the apparitions. Today on the site is the modern
glass and steel Capelhina (little chapel), enclosing the first chapel
built there and the statue of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima where
the holm oak had stood.

As for the children, they
made their way to the Cova amid the adulation and skepticism which had
followed them since May. When they arrived they found critics who
questioned their veracity and the punctuality of the Lady, who had
promised to arrive at noon. It was well passed noon by the official
time of the country. However, when the sun arrived at its zenith the
Lady appeared as she had said she would.

I want a chapel built here in my honor. I want you to continue
saying the Rosary every day. The war will end soon, and the soldiers
will return to their homes.

"Yes. Yes."

"Will you tell me your name?"

I am the Lady of the Rosary.

"I have many petitions from many people. Will you grant
them? "

Some I shall grant, and others I must deny. People must amend
their lives and ask pardon for their sins. They must not offend our
Lord any more, for He is already too much offended!

"And is that all you have to ask?"

There is nothing more.

As the Lady of the Rosary rises toward the east she turns the
palms of her hands toward the dark sky. While the rain had stopped,
dark clouds continued to obscure the sun, which suddenly bursts
through them and is seen to be a soft spinning disk of silver.

"Look at the sun!"

From this point two distinct apparitions were seen, that of the
phenomenon of the sun seen by the 70,000 or so spectators and that
beheld by the children alone. Lucia describes the latter in her
memoirs.

After our Lady had
disappeared into the immense distance of the firmament, we beheld
St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady robed in white with a
blue mantle, beside the sun. St. Joseph and the Child Jesus seemed
to bless the world, for they traced the Sign of the Cross with their
hands. When, a little later, this apparition disappeared, I saw Our
Lord and Our lady; it seemed to me to that it was Our Lady of
Sorrows (Dolors). Our Lord appeared to bless the world in the same
manner as St. Joseph had done. This apparition also vanished, and I
saw Our Lady once more, this time resembling Our Lady of
Carmel. [Only Lucia would see the later, presaging her entrance into
Carmel some years later.]

This would be the last of
the apparitions of Fátima for Jacinta and Francisco. However, for
Lucia Our Lady would return a seventh time, in 1920, as she had
promised the previous May. At that time Lucia would be praying in the
Cova before leaving Fátima for a girls boarding school. The Lady
would come to urge her to dedicate herself wholly to God.

As the children viewed the various
apparitions of Jesus, Mary and Joseph the crowd witnessed a different prodigy,
the now famous miracle of the sun. Among the witnesses there were the
following:

O Seculo (a pro-government, anti-clerical, Lisbon paper):

From the road, where the vehicles were parked and where hundreds
of people who had not dared to brave the mud were congregated, one
could see the immense multitude turn toward the sun, which appeared
free from clouds and in its zenith. It looked like a plaque of dull
silver, and it was possible to look at it without the least
discomfort. It might have been an eclipse which was taking place.
But at that moment a great shout went up, and one could hear the
spectators nearest at hand shouting: "A miracle! A miracle!

Before the astonished eyes of the crowd, whose aspect was
biblical as they stood bareheaded, eagerly searching the sky, the
sun trembled, made sudden incredible movements outside all cosmic
laws---the sun "danced" according to the typical
expression of the people.

Standing at the step of an omnibus was an old man. With his face
turned to the sun, he recited the Credo in a loud voice. I asked who
he was and was told Senhor Joao da Cunha Vasconcelos. I saw him
afterwards going up to those around him who still had their hats on,
and vehemently imploring them to uncover before such an
extraordinary demonstration of the existence of God.

Identical scenes were repeated elsewhere, and in one place a
woman cried out: "How terrible! There are even men who do not
uncover before such a stupendous miracle!"

People then began to ask each other what they had seen. The great
majority admitted to having seen the trembling and the dancing of
the sun; others affirmed that they saw the face of the Blessed
Virgin; others, again, swore that the sun whirled on itself like a
giant Catherine wheel and that it lowered itself to the earth as if
to burn it in its rays. Some said they saw it change colors
successively....

O Dia (another Lisbon daily, edition of 17 October 1917):

"At one o'clock in the afternoon, midday by the sun, the
rain stopped. The sky, pearly grey in colour, illuminated the vast
arid landscape with a strange light. The sun had a transparent gauzy
veil so that the eyes could easily be fixed upon it. The grey
mother-of-pearl tone turned into a sheet of silver which broke up as
the clouds were torn apart and the silver sun, enveloped in the same
gauzy grey light, was seen to whirl and turn in the circle of broken
clouds. A cry went up from every mouth and people fell on their
knees on the muddy ground....

The light turned a beautiful blue, as if it had come through the
stained-glass windows of a cathedral, and spread itself over the
people who knelt with outstretched hands. The blue faded slowly, and
then the light seemed to pass through yellow glass. Yellow stains
fell against white handkerchiefs, against the dark skirts of the
women. They were repeated on the trees, on the stones and on the
serra. People wept and prayed with uncovered heads, in the presence
of a miracle they had awaited. The seconds seemed like hours, so
vivid were they.

Ti Marto (father of Jacinta and Francisco)

We looked easily at the sun, which for some reason did not blind
us. It seemed to flicker on and off, first one way, then another. It
cast its rays in many directions and painted everything in different
colors--- the trees, the people, the air and the ground. But what
was most extraordinary, I thought, was that the sun did not hurt our
eyes. Everything was still and quiet, and everyone was looking up.
Then at a certain moment, the sun appeared to stop spinning. It then
began to move and to dance in the sky until it seemed to detach
itself from its place and fall upon us. It was a terrible moment.

Maria de Capelinha (one of the earliest believers):

The sun turned everything to different colours---yellow, blue and
white. Then it shook and trembled. It looked like a wheel of fire
that was going to fall on the people. They began to cry out,
"We shall all be killed!" Others called to our Lady to
save them. They recited acts of contrition. One woman began to
confess her sins aloud, advertising that she had done this and
that.... When at last the sun stopped leaping and moving, we all
breathed our relief. We were still alive, and the miracle which the
children had foretold, had been seen by everyone.

I was looking at the place of the apparitions, in a serene, if
cold, expectation of something happening, and with diminishing
curiosity, because a long time had passed without anything to excite
my attention. Then I heard a shout from thousands of voices and saw
the multitude suddenly turn its back and shoulders away from the
point toward which up to now it had directed its attention, and turn
to look at the sky on the opposite side.

It must have been nearly two o'clock by the legal time, and about
midday by the sun. The sun, a few moments before, had broken through
the thick layer of clouds which hid it, and shone clearly and
intensely. I veered to the magnet which seemed to be drawing all
eyes, and saw it as a disc with a clean-cut rim, luminous and
shining, but which did not hurt the eyes. I do not agree with the
comparison which I have heard made in Fatima---that of a dull silver
disc. It was a clearer, richer, brighter colour, having something of
the luster of a pearl. It did not in the least resemble the moon on
a clear night because one saw it and felt it to be a living body. It
was not spheric like the moon, nor did it have the same colour,
tone, or shading. It looked like a glazed wheel made of
mother-of-pearl. It could not be confused, either, with the sun seen
through fog (for there was no fog at the time), because it was not
opaque, diffused or veiled. In Fatima it gave light and heat and
appeared clear-cut with a well-defined rim.

The sky was mottled with light cirrus clouds with the blue coming
through here and there, but sometimes the sun stood out in patches
of clear sky. The clouds passed from west to east and did not
obscure the light of the sun, giving the impression of passing
behind it, though sometimes these flecks of white took on tones of
pink or diaphanous blue as they passed before the sun.

It was a remarkable fact that one could fix one's eyes on this
brazier of heat and light without any pain in the eyes or blinding
of the retina. The phenomenon, except for two interruptions when the
sun seemed to send out rays of refulgent heat which obliged us to
look away, must have lasted about ten minutes.

The sun's disc did not remain immobile. This was not the
sparkling of a, heavenly body, for it spun round on itself in a mad
whirl. Then, suddenly, one heard a clamour, a cry of anguish
breaking from all the people. The sun, whirling wildly, seemed to
loosen itself from the firmament and advance threateningly upon the
earth as if to crush us with its huge and fiery weight. The
sensation during those moments was terrible.

During the solar phenomenon, which I have just described in
detail, there were changes of colour in the atmosphere. Looking at
the sun, I noticed that everything around was becoming darkened. I
looked first at the nearest objects and then extended my glance
further afield as far as the horizon. I saw everything an amethyst
colour. Objects around me, the sky and the atmosphere, were of the
same colour. An oak tree nearby threw a shadow of this colour on the
ground.

Fearing that I was suffering from an affection of the retina, an
improbable explanation because in that case one could not see things
purple-colored, I turned away and shut my eyes, keeping my hands
before them to intercept the light. With my back still turned, I
opened my eyes and saw that the landscape was the same purple colour
as before.

The impression was not that of an eclipse, and while looking at
the sun I noticed that the atmosphere had cleared. Soon after I
heard a peasant who was near me shout out in tones of astonishment:
"Look, that lady is all yellow!"

And in fact everything, both near and far, had changed, taking on
the colour of old yellow damask. People looked as if they were
suffering from jaundice, and I recall a sensation of amusement at
seeing them look so ugly and unattractive. My own hand was the same
colour. All the phenomena which I have described were observed by me
in a calm and serene state of mind, and without any emotional
disturbance. It is for others to interpret and explain them.

Dr. Almeida Garrett, PhD (Coimbra University):

I was looking at the place of the apparitions, in a serene, if
cold, expectation of something happening, and with diminishing
curiosity, because a long time had passed without anything to excite
my attention. Then I heard a shout from thousands of voices and saw
the multitude suddenly turn its back and shoulders away from the
point toward which up to now it had directed its attention, and turn
to look at the sky on the opposite side.

It must have been nearly two o'clock by the legal time, and about
midday by the sun. The sun, a few moments before, had broken through
the thick layer of clouds which hid it, and shone clearly and
intensely. I veered to the magnet which seemed to be drawing all
eyes, and saw it as a disc with a clean-cut rim, luminous and
shining, but which did not hurt the eyes. I do not agree with the
comparison which I have heard made in Fátima---that of a dull
silver disc. It was a clearer, richer, brighter color, having
something of the luster of a pearl. It did not in the least resemble
the moon on a clear night because one saw it and felt it to be a
living body. It was not spheric like the moon, nor did it have the
same color, tone, or shading. It looked like a glazed wheel made of
mother-of-pearl. It could not be confused, either, with the sun seen
through fog (for there was no fog at the time), because it was not
opaque, diffused or veiled. In Fátima it gave light and heat and
appeared clear-cut with a well-defined rim.

The sky was mottled with light cirrus clouds with the blue coming
through here and there, but sometimes the sun stood out in patches
of clear sky. The clouds passed from west to east and did not
obscure the light of the sun, giving the impression of passing
behind it, though sometimes these flecks of white took on tones of
pink or diaphanous blue as they passed before the sun.

It was a remarkable fact that one could fix one's eyes on this
brazier of heat and light without any pain in the eyes or blinding
of the retina. The phenomenon, except for two interruptions when the
sun seemed to send out rays of refulgent heat which obliged us to
look away, must have lasted about ten minutes.

The sun's disc did not remain immobile. This was not the
sparkling of a, heavenly body, for it spun round on itself in a mad
whirl. Then, suddenly, one heard a clamor, a cry of anguish breaking
from all the people. The sun, whirling wildly, seemed to loosen
itself from the firmament and advance threateningly upon the earth
as if to crush us with its huge and fiery weight. The sensation
during those moments was terrible.

During the solar phenomenon, which I have just described in
detail, there were changes of color in the atmosphere. Looking at
the sun, I noticed that everything around was becoming darkened. I
looked first at the nearest objects and then extended my glance
further afield as far as the horizon. I saw everything an amethyst
color. Objects around me, the sky and the atmosphere, were of the
same color. An oak tree nearby threw a shadow of this color on the
ground.

Fearing that I was suffering from an affection of the retina, an
improbable explanation because in that case one could not see things
purple-colored, I turned away and shut my eyes, keeping my hands
before them to intercept the light. With my back still turned, I
opened my eyes and saw that the landscape was the same purple color
as before.

The impression was not that of an eclipse, and while looking at
the sun I noticed that the atmosphere had cleared. Soon after I
heard a peasant who was near me shout out in tones of astonishment:
"Look, that lady is all yellow!"

And in fact everything, both near and far, had changed, taking on
the color of old yellow damask. People looked as if they were
suffering from jaundice, and I recall a sensation of amusement at
seeing them look so ugly and unattractive. My own hand was the same
color. All the phenomena which I have described were observed by me
in a calm and serene state of mind, and without any emotional
disturbance. It is for others to interpret and explain them.

Dr. Domingos Coelho (reported in the newspaper Ordem):

The sun, at one moment surrounded with scarlet flame, at another
aureoled in yellow and deep purple, seemed to be in an exceedingly
fast and whirling movement, at times appearing to be loosened from
the sky and to be approaching the earth, strongly radiating heat.

Fr. Manuel Pereira da Silva
(in a letter to a friend)

The sun appeared with its
circumference well defined. It came down as if to the height of the
clouds and began to whirl giddily upon itself like a captive ball of
fire. With some interruptions, this lasted about eight minutes. The
atmosphere darkened and the features of each became yellow. Everyone
knelt even in the mud....

Senhor Alfredo da Silva Santos (Lisbon):

We made our arrangements, and went in
three motor cars on the early morning of the 13th. There was a thick
mist, and the car which went in front mistook the way so that we
were all lost for a time and only arrived at the Cova da Iria at
midday by the sun. It was absolutely full of people, but for my part
I felt devoid of any religious feeling. When Lucia called out:
"Look at the sun!" the whole multitude repeated:
"Attention to the sun!" It was a day of incessant drizzle
but a few moments before the miracle it stopped raining. I can
hardly find words to describe what followed. The sun began to move,
and at a certain moment appeared to be detached from the sky and
about to hurtle upon us like a wheel of flame. My wife---we had been
married only a short time- -- fainted, and I was too upset to attend
to her, and my brother-in- law, Joao Vassalo, supported her on his
arm. I fell on my knees, oblivious of everything, and when I got up
I don't know what I said. I think I began to cry out like the
others. An old man with a white beard began to attack the atheists
aloud and challenged them to say whether or not something
supernatural had occurred.

There may have been many former
atheists in Fátima that day, but there were plenty in Portugal,
nonetheless, to charge hallucination.
For those the Lady provided witnesses who were not at the scene and
could not have been subject to collective suggestion.

Alfonso Lopes Vieira (observed the display from a distance
of nearly 25 miles):

On that day of October 13, 1917, without remembering the
predictions of the children, I was enchanted by a remarkable
spectacle in the sky of a kind I had never seen before. I saw it
from this veranda....

Fr. Ignacio Lorenco (Alburitel, 11 miles away):

I was only nine years old at this time, and I went to the local
village school. At about midday we were surprised by the shouts and
cries of some men and women who were passing in the street in front
of the school. The teacher, a good, pious woman, though nervous and
impressionable, was the first to run into the road, with the
children after her.

Outside, the people were shouting and weeping and pointing to the
sun, ignoring the agitated questions of the schoolmistress. It was
the great Miracle, which one could see quite distinctly from the top
of the hill where my village was situated---the Miracle of the sun,
accompanied by all its extraordinary phenomena.

I feel incapable of describing what I saw and felt. I looked
fixedly at the sun, which seemed pale and did not hurt the eyes.
Looking like a ball of snow revolving on itself, it suddenly seemed
to come down in a zigzag, menacing the earth. Terrified, I ran and
hid myself among the people, who were weeping and expecting the end
of the world at any moment.

Near us was an unbeliever who had spent the morning mocking at
the simpletons who had gone off to Fátima just to see an ordinary
girl. He now seemed to be paralyzed, his eyes fixed on the sun.
Afterwards he trembled from head to foot and lifting up his arms
fell on his knees in the mud, crying out to our Lady.

Meanwhile the people continued to cry out and to weep, asking God
to pardon their sins. We all ran to the two chapels in the village,
which were soon filled to overflowing. During those long moments of
the solar prodigy, objects around us turned all the colors of the
rainbow. We saw ourselves blue, yellow, red, etc. All these strange
phenomena increased the fears of the people. After about ten minutes
the sun, now dull and pallid, returned to its place. When the people
realized that the danger was over, there was an explosion of joy,
and everyone joined in thanksgiving and praise to our Lady.